Lando Norris Denies Lewis Hamilton Historic Hungarian GP Pole

Lando Norris snatched pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix by just 0.012 seconds, denying Lewis Hamilton what would have been an historic pole in Budapest.

The result continues a tightly matched Budapest weekend. Norris had already edged Hamilton in FP3, but qualifying demanded a decisive final lap when the pressure was highest.

Norris finds the difference in Q3

Hamilton was fastest in the first and third sectors, but Norris held the advantage in the second. That was enough to deliver pole by the narrowest of margins and put him at the front for the race.

Behind the front row, Leclerc will start third, ahead of Kimi Antonelli and Oscar Piastri. Max Verstappen is sixth after spinning at the final corner, while George Russell qualified seventh after stopping on the main straight. Isack Hadjar, Arvid Lindblad and Nico Hulkenberg complete the top 10.

Late drama reshapes the grid

Antonelli survived a difficult Q2 after his third-place lap was deleted for exceeding track limits. He recovered to eighth on his final attempt, securing a place in Q3. Leclerc also dropped as rivals improved, falling to 12th before a final-lap recovery lifted him to second in the segment. He also survived a brief investigation over a yellow-flag infringement after Hadjar spun at Turn 12.

Liam Lawson was the first Q2 eliminator, while Pierre Gasly again out-qualified Alpine team-mate Franco Colapinto. Gabriel Bortoleto was 14th, with Esteban Ocon ahead of Fernando Alonso in 16th. Alonso had briefly moved into the top 10, but slipped back and finished around 1.2 seconds from Q3.

Aston Martin’s upgraded AMR26 produced its first Q2 appearance of 2026 through Alonso, who beat Oliver Bearman by 0.107 seconds in Q1. Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon qualified 18th and 19th, Lance Stroll was 20th, and Cadillac filled the final row with Valtteri Bottas ahead of Sergio Perez.